D&D

Today seems to be a good candidate for celebrating the release of D&D, so I'm marking the 49th anniversary of its release.

Alas, I'm not playing much lately, due to a combination of several factors, chiefly being busy with work and too exhausted to have much of a social life on weekends. But I'm planning something for next year, the last Sunday of January, where I hope to have a game going.

It's 1984; Dad's in the Navy and receives his next orders after Antigua, and we fly to Orlando, arrange to drive to the Pacific coast in order to catch an international flight to Tokyo International, Japan. Our final destination: Yokota Air Force Base.

I'd yet to encounter roleplaying games of any kind, and the most sophisticated game I'd played up to then was probably Risk or Stratego.

Previously on Game Restart: [it’s a series]

The thing about arcades is that arcades are expensive. 

Adjusted for inflation, a quarter in early 80s money is approximately 63¢ in today’s money at the time of this writing. Most people probably aren’t used to spending money after the initial investment in the console and then the game for their home, but imagine spending that for every three tries, lives, or continues.

We didn’t have much money. I understand that now, though I didn’t understand it then. 

This meant toys of an electronic nature—especially in the 1970s—were rare, and although I still recall we had a lot of toys, even limited lots of toys like Lego, Micronauts, and some Star Wars figures and (hand-made) vehicles, electrical devices were rare.